• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 29, 2007

Athletic shoe and apparel company Puma revealed an advertising campaign Tuesday for its "I'm Going" series with people dressed in bold neon colors in acrobatic poses to express an active lifestyle.

Tank Design, a Cambridge, Mass., design firm with $5 million in annual revenue, created the in-store and print ads that reflect a frozen moment in time. The two companies have worked together for three consecutive seasons.

People wearing street clothes while being athletic portrays Puma as a company that represents "energized elegance," says David Warren, Tank Design creative director and founder. "The explosion and smoke in the images provide a metaphor for energy. People are falling into the gutter to make an unusually graphic and powerful statement."

The goal aims to focus on the blending of bodies and products, rather than pretty faces and toned physiques. Puma tends to lean toward the quirky and ironic side with its clothing line.

Warren couldn't provide the cost for the Puma campaign, but estimates a three-month ad campaign for print and stores would run roughly $500,000.

Puma spent $5 million for advertising through the first half of 2007, down from roughly $15 million in 2006, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Capturing the spirit of "I'm Going," Puma relied on 2007 Tony Award-winning New York dance troupe Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, known for their modern avant-garde work. The dancers worked with fashion photography team Guzman and producer Steven Prancia to capture a contemporary fantasy world.

The ads focus on several clothing lines--from lifestyle to sports fashion to accessories--in an effort to reach a wide range of consumers, according to a Puma spokeswoman.

Photographed in New York City earlier this spring, the dance imagery comes in eight different iterations called "Getaway," "Glide," "Jump," "Reach," "Rush," "Stretch," "Swing," "Twist." The campaign features products from Puma's recently launched Urban Mobility Collection--accessories for the on-the-go urban dweller. Highlights from the collection include Extreme Shopper, the X-ray belt, Utility Shopper, and the Urban Mobility Edition Bag.

Since 2005, the collaboration between Puma and Tank Design has included several successful launches, such as Puma Women, the new Complete Bodywear line, a collection with Marcel Wanders; and Puma Rugby in collaboration with this fall's World Cup in France.

Puma's print ads will appear this fall in multiple U.S. and European publications, including Maxim, Stuff, Details, Lucky, Jane, Elle, and InStyle. Point-of-sale, catalog and online versions are available, too.

Other Tank Design clients include Akamai, Cole Haan, FedEx, Keds, MIT, MTV and Yale University.